Art: The Silence of the Lambs by Gabz

When we think of horror’s most iconic villains, it’s easy to veer towards the Freddys and Jasons of the genre—their supernatural presence, like demons or beasts, affix themselves to what we think of as monsters. Yet some of cinema’s scariest foes are the ones just like you and me—they’re human. Which is why Jonathan Demme’s somber masterpiece The Silence of the Lambs continues to terrify, even 26 years later. It’s that simple and horrifying realization of how much damage a twisted mind can do, and it’s something that becomes all too real when Clarice visits Hannibal Lecter for the first time.

The film is a multi-layered beast, the type of story that reveals more and more of its secrets each time you watch it. And that, too, is why I love this piece by Gabz (Grzegorz Domaradzki), which not only just simply kick’s ass, it embodies the film’s mastership for terrifying visuals. That wide eye of panic staring back at us from behind a human skull is a brilliant touch that perfectly captures the film’s psychological themes.